Amusement-ticket machine.



R. M. RICKERT.

AMUSEMENT TICKET MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31. 1911.

1,026,605. Patented May 14, 1912.

5 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Olimminunmumllg' witnesses l 6g Suuculot @Hoznclj R. M. RICKERT.

AMUSEMENT TICKET MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, 1911. 1,026,605, Patent-,ed May 14, 1912.

5 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

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liucllloz *I @M Mw R. M. RICKERT.

AMUSEMBNT TICKET MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.31, 1911.

1,026,605. Patented May 14, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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AMUSEMENT TICKET MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3l, 1911.

1,026,605. Patented May 14, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

s x i 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROY M. RICKERT, or DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To FRANK D.SANDY, br DENVER, COLORADO.

AMUSEMENT-TICKET MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1912.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Bor M. RIC'KERT, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Amusement-TicketMachines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawin s, and to the characters of reference markethereon, which form a part of this specification. l

My invention relates-to improvements in machines'for su plying tickets,more especially adapted tfbruse in connection with places of amusement,and embodies mechanism whereby these tickets are printed, per. foratedand delivered, either singly or in series, consisting of a stripcontaining a plurality of tickets.

My improved machine is equipped with a number of operating levers, eachlever hav-- ing its exposed extremity provided with av sort ofpush-button u on which is formed a number or character lndicating thenumber of connected tickets to be delivered. These keys or levers, aslillustrated in the drawing, are tive in number, their ends orpush-button extremities bein numbered from one to five. lVhen any lever1s actuated, a drum is moved downwardly, and a gear with which it isequipped is caused to mesh with an operating gear and also with a gearlconnected with a printing roll, whereby the drum is rotated, auch inturn, imparts rotary movementto the said roll. The depressed leverinterlocks with retaining levers, which are arranged to he released bylu s formed. upon the said drum, these lugs icing so located that thedrum is maintained in operative connection with the Operating gear andthe gear of the printing roll for a longer or shorter time, as may bedesired, and according to the position ofthe operated lever.

As illustrated in the drawing, where there are ti ve levers, there arefive of the lugs for actuating the retaining levers, one of these lugsbeing arranged to release its retaining lever when the drum has madeapproximately one-fifth of a rotation, whereby the paper -web,.whiehsupplies the tickets, is only drawn far enough in contact with theprinting roll to print a single ticket, and as soon as this occurs, theinterlocked levers are disengaged and the drum moves upwardly inresponse to the recoil action of a spring which supports the frame inwhich the drum is journaled. At the same time, a coil spring, locatedlwithin the drum, acts to re turn the drum to its normal position..Simultaneouslywith the upward movement of the drum, a knife is actuatedwhereby the ticket is cut oil'. If the lever containing the number 5,for instance, is actuated, the drum will be held in the depressedposition, and, consequently, in operative connection with the operatinggear and the gear of the ticket printing roll lon enough to print fivetickets before the interlocked levers are released and theticket stripeut Off.

Provision is made for automatically per- -forating the paper web betweeneach two tickets, whereby -the individual tickets may be readilyseparated from a strip containing a series, if desired.

As illustrated in the drawing, my improved machine is operated hy anelectric motor, which may be constantly in motion while the sale oftickets is going on, whereby the operating gears are at all times readyto operate tht` drum, whenever the latter is depressed sufliciently toform an operative connection with the operating gears.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed todescribe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanyingdrawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In' this drawing: Figure l is a side elevation of the machine, a portionof the removable plate or door and also'the inner wall of the casingbeing partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a sect-ion, taken on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1, looking forwardly or in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 3 is asection` taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, looking toward the right. Fi 4is a section taken on the line 4-4 o? Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section, takenthrough the cooperating ticket print-` ing and perforating rolls. Thisis a section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a section takenthrough the printing and perfor-ating rolls on a plane coincident withthe longitudinal axes of the rolls. Fig. 7 is a top plan view of themachine with the top plate of the casing partly broken Fig. 3 s asection, ytaken onthe line 8-8 ot to disclose the mechanism within.1spring198 i extremity,

Fig. 2, the upper part of the machine being f,

broken away. y

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of theviews.

Lof/e605 connected with the Vdog at one as shown at 99, and at itsopposite extremity with the lower end of a depending member 101connected with the U-Shaped frame-plate 38, as shown at 102.

This dog 36 prevents the drum from mow Let the numeral 5 designate anouter casspindle by separating sleeves 14. The outer l extremities ofthese levers are equipped with buttr-ns 15 upon which are formednumerals from one to tiva-see Fig. 7. 0f course, the numb-er of leversmay be as great as desired` depending only upon the size of .themachine. Each of these levers is normally held at its upward limit ofmovement by a spiral spring 16. one extremity of which is eonnected witha rod 17, supported by the plates 12 and 13; while the other extremityof the spring is connected with the. lever. as shown at 18.

Above the lever and located about midway between its extremities is astop rod 1.9, surrounded by a sleeve for'limiting the upward movement ofthe lever, under the influence of the spring 16. Each lever 9 isprovided with a depending arm 21, whose lower extremity is formed into ahookshaped head 2Q, having a curved face 23 and an offset 24, theseparts being arranged. when the lever is depressed, to engage andinterlock with the correspondingly shaped upper extremity of a retaininglever 26, which is fulcrumed intermediate its extremities on a rod 27,its lower extremity being connected, as shown at 28, with one end of acoiled spring 29, the opposite end of the spring being secured to thebottom of the casing, as shown at 30. Each of these levers 26 isarranged in front of and in elo-se proximity to a revolving drum 31,which is journaled on a spindle 32 with which one ex, tremity of acoiled spring 33, located within the drum, is connected, as shown at 34,while the outer extremity of the said spring is connected with the innersurface of the drum, as shown at 35. This spring, normally holds thedrum in a cer-tain predetermined position, this position being furtherdetermined by a locking dog 36, pivotally mounted, as shown at 37, on5cl-shaped member 38, pivotally connected with a rod 39 mounted in theplates 12 and 13, the said dog having a hook-shaped extremity 4 construc-ted to automatically interlockY with tooth 3 formed on oneextremity of the drum. This dog is held in v,osition to interV leek withthe tooth of the rum by a coiled ing beyond its normal'position underthe recoil action of its spring. The U-shaped frame member 38 isriveted. as shown at 40, to two vertically disposed U-shaped ramelmembers 41 and 42, the Ushaped frame i, member 38 being The tramemembers 41 and 42 horizontally disposed. Y are rigidly secured to theframe member 38, and there fore, movewith the latter. The depending armZ1 of each key lever 9 passes through an opening 43 formed in the top ofthe frame member 41, while the upper extremity 'I of the lever 26protrudes through :in opening '44 formed 1n the top of .the frame member42. The openings 43 and 44 in the two frame members are suiicientlylarge, as not to interfere with the levers 9 and 26 during the verticalmovement of the drum 31, and the frame upon which it is mounted.

A coil spring 45 is connected at one ex tremit-y of the U-shaped framemember 33, as shown at 46` while its opposite extremity is connectedwith a rod 47 supported at. the upper extremity of the two frame plates19 and 13. This spring is placed-under tension by the downward movementof vthe drum and its oscillatory frame, composed of the members 38, 41and 42, and, consequently, lever 26, whereby the interlocking connection between the said lever and the arm 21 of the leveritl is broken,the spring 45 returns the oscillatory frame and the drum to their upwardlimit of movement.

as soon as the drum acts upon the 3 As illustrated in the drawing, thedrum i 31, as well as the other rotary elements of the mechanism, isoperated from a motor 4S, whose operating shaft .49 is equipped with aworm 50 engaging 51 of a worm Wheel 52, fast on a spindle 53. journaledin the stationary frame plates 12 and 13. Upon the spindle 53 is madefast a gear Wheel 54, which meshes with a gear. 55 mounted on a spindle5G, the last-namedgear meshing with a gear 57 mounted on the spindle 27.This gear 57 is in position to mesh with a gear 59 mounted on one end otthe drum 31, when the drum is depressed by the downward movement of akey lever, whereby the depending arm 21 of the lever is caused tointerlock with the hook-shaped extremity of a retaining lever "26. Thedrum, when so actuated, moves in the direc tion indicated by the arrowin Fig. Fast on a spindle 60 is a printing roll G1, the said spindlebeing journaled in the lower portion of a stationary frame plate 13 atoneextremity,l and in ,a relatively short trarne plate at the oppositeextremity, the last th'e toothed periphery 3 61 also begins to rotate inthe direction indicated by the arrow adjacent said roll in Fig. 3. Thegear 65 meshes with a similar gear 66 fast on a spindle 67 to which isalso secured a perforating roll 68, cooperating with the printing rollto draw a paper web 69, of light cardboard, from a spool 70, journaledbetween plates 71 projecting upwardly from the top of the main casing5,.

the lower extremities of the said plates being secured to the maincasing by screws 72.

The parallel spool-carrying plates 71 are vertically slotted, as shownat 73, to receive projections 74 formed on a block of metal 75, whichrests upon the periphery or outer surface oit the paper web roll 76 andserves as a tension device to cause the paper web to be evenly unwoundfrom the roll during the operation of the machine, and preventing themomentum of the roll from serving to unwind the paper web after thepower, acting to feed the paper web, has ceased to act. The paper webpasses downwardly from the i roll through an opening formed in the upperpart of the casing and passes underneath a guide roller 77 mounted inthecasing, whence it passes rearwardly in a horizontal plane approximatelybetween the printing and perforating rolls 61 and 68. Each half rotationof a printing and perforating roll serves to print a portion of thepaper web forming a ticket, and also perforates the paper web betweenthat ticket` and the next one. The perforating roll is equipped withtoothed plates 78, protruding from its periphery on opposite sides forperforating purposes. v

Mounted above the printing roll and fast on a spindle 79 journaled inthe frame plates 13 and is an inking roll 80, which engages the printingroll and inks the latter during the ticket printing operation.

Mounted on the spindle 67 of the perforating roll and near the innerextremity thereof is a disk 81 having two V-shaped recesses 82 whichcoincide as to position with perforating pins 78 of the perforatingroll, An arm 83, secured tothe U-shaped frame member 38, as shown at 84,extends downwardly, its lower extremity being hookshaped, as shown at,85, its free end being turned upwardly to engage one of the recesses 82of the disk 81, when the oscillatory frame and the drum move upwardlyunder the influence of the recoil of the spring 45, after the key leverand the retaining lever have been disengaged in the manner heretoforeexplained. The action of this hook shaped arm 83 upon the disk 8l servesto prevent the possible travel of th printing and perforating rollsbeyond the desired limit to print the number of tickets required by anyoperation of the machine. This hook-shaped lever also will serve torestore the printing and perforating rolls to their proper position incase they have traveled slightly beyond the required limit, since therecesses 82 are outwardly iared and made considerably larger than theengaging upturned extremity 86 ofthe hook-shaped arm.

As the printed and perforated portion of the paper web 69 movesrearwardly beyond the rolls 61 and 68, it passes between two cuttingjaws 87 and 88, the jaw 87 being lever like and fulcrumed at 89, itsshortl arm being pivotally connected, as shown at 90. with a link 91,whose upper extremity is pivotally connected, as shown at 92, with theU-shaped trame member 38. When the drum and the oscillatory frame uponwhich if is mounted are at their lowest limit of movement, the link 91acts to hold the cutting arm of the jaw 87 above the cooperatingstationary'jaw 88 to allow the printed portion 94 of the paper web topass between the said jaws. Now, as soon as the key lever and theretaining lever are disengaged and the oscillatory frame and the drumcarried thereby move upwardly, the action of the link 91is such as tomove the arm 93 of the jaw 87 downwardly whereby it serves inconjunction with the stationary jaw 88 to cut oil' the printed portionof the ticket.

At the inner extremity of the spindle 67 is located a toothed wheel 95,which meshes with a gear 96 of a registering or counting device 97,whereby the number of tickets printed` by the machine is counted orregistered. This registering device, being of the ordinaryconstruction", need not be described in detail.

In order that the drum may act. upon the retaining levers 26 at varyingintervals of time, the face of the drum is equipped with cams A, B, C,l), and E, llying in different planes and located at varying distancesfrom the. retaining levers 26, that lie in the planes of the respectivecams, the said distances being measured in a. given direction around thedrum.

Assuming that the drum is traveling in the direction of the arrow inFig. 8 and that the key lever having the numeral l on its outerextremity is interloclred with the corresponding retaining lever, thecam A will act upon the said interlocked retaining lever after the drumhas traveled approximately one-fourth or" a revolution,`or far enoughroll gears long enough te 'print e e 3,; and Hence, the e? te flremetravel, in @raler te release lever and elle-Y' t `um te n t0 its nermaip fn, will wlaiele key ve is depreseeel te f enegement its eerresp-enlngmg lever.

From Yth fl and Operetlen 15 my lmp be readily l etee the machin sellingof 't other place Where tleletsere require; varying num" erC t dl'erentpurelfleeerf le ,A e

operating eetmted r one er m01.

in emerge ef the @Grilling Wltl the key lever tngetler with v Wlneh itmeente-l, zlewnwerl e sufl distance to eense its gear te operating 5T'enel the on the spr le ef the primi the drum .n.1 epereton e' starts theprmtlng roll5 le? drum bexng eentlnueus fer a le depending upen thenumber quired, andi, froneequentl'y, up@ i the pl lar key lever pressel,lf the E l' the numeral l et its outer er# f. pressi-:elQ the drum onlyremains cenneeton with the operating etal.

latter is nterloelnedl As seen es any fetainmg lever deengeged from, itsCerre- Sponing key lmfer7 'whereby the drum and its oscillatory :tremeere allowed to more upwardly5 the porten of 'the paper web S9, wnel'llas been prineel imei perforated, has passed through the openingbetween the cutn ting jaws 87 and 8-, and, as the frame end rum moveupwardly, the jaw :37 is actuated eut fart the enel en of L e tlelet L,l whereby i umfat-00d that le Serv@ te mo le "la the fifa et the heil,the e? levers 7 '5,521.55 iler @para equipp. l pleU ef the being etseifl ,levers in the lree 15 and telxet print v ont of en sfegeme e,'emg ve :sally ed L depreeaed Inte ment with the printing we key leveris operrfted7 the atteft l @tell mounted, lier the ln-pese se* ylhecomblneten x Gf n frame meunteel te treme-- e drum jnurnaleel en frangeend eqfsp mi with cams er Y, Atial mnt in the @rum l' @tation "ayleversv In d, retar e' lever .lrunge to in. A:rlock with the key llerswlw; :l the lat ter are pressed? *he key levers being connected it@voperative releowith the ('fxeillatorf- 'fra-me, ellerelgjk ,Y 'egeth edrum, is mover? flowmm (ily by ma opere-- tion et a key l e the l?levers unil retain ing levers being mengsel ge interlock upa;y thefewnwarcl mevfemee' a key le\v firme-@panting eche' nlanil tcl'etprimiing; meehanism lecatel w lle drum upon. the downward movement ofthe latter, whereby the drum is operated and in turn operates the ticketprinting mechanism, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a suitable frame, of a vertically movable framemounted therein and normally spring-retained at its upward limit ofmovement, the said drum being equipped with cams arranged in differentplanes and at varying distances from an initial .point in the directionof the drums rotation, key levers pivotally mounted and arranged to movethe drum downwardly when any lever is operated, retaining levers adaptedto interlock with key levers when the latter are operated whereby thedrum is held at its downward limit of movement for a predeterminedperiod, the retaining levers being arranged in planes corresponding withthe arrangement of the cams on the said drum, drum operating mechanismand ticket printing mechanism located to be connected in operativerelation with the drum when' the latter is depressed, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination with a suitable frame, of spring-held key levers,pivotally mounted thereon, spring-actuated retaining levers arranged tointerlock with the respective key levers when the latter are pressed, adrum rotatably mounted in the frame and vertically movable, the drumbeing normally spring-supported at its upward limit of movement andequipped with cams arranged in planes corresponding with the position ofthe retaining levers, the drum being also normally spring-retained in aninitial position with reference to its rotary travel, drurn-operatingmechanism, ticket printing mechanism, both of which are arranged to bebrought into operative relation with the drum when the latter isdepressed, the drum being arranged to be moved downwardly by theoperation of any key lever, the drum being held at its downward limit ofmovement as long as the key lever and retaining lever are in interlockedrelation, the cams on the drum being arranged to act upon theirrespective retaining levers whereby any interlocked retaining lever isactuated to release its cooperating key lever as soon as the proper camof the drinn reaches the interlocked retaining lever, substantiallv asdescribed.

The combination with a suitable frame, of a drum vertically movabletherein and springsupported at its upward limit of movement, ticketprinting and operating mechanism arranged to be connected in operativerelation with the drum when the i latter is at its downward limitof'movement,

means for depressing the drum into operative relation with the operatingand printing mechanism, and means for maintaining the drum in suchoperative relation at varying intervals, the said means beingautomatically unlocked by the movement ot the drum, substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination with a suitable trame, of a drum vertically movabletherein and normally spring-supported at its upward limit of movement,drum operating and ticket printing mechanism, means arranged to act uponthe drum whereby the latter is moved downwardly into operative relationwith the drum operating and ticket printing mechanism, means arranged tointerlock with the drum depressi'ig means whereby the drum is held inthe depressed position during varying intervals of time, the drum beingequipped to act upon the retaining means to automatically release thesame, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a suitable frame, of a drum vertically movablein the frame, drum operating mechanism and ticket printing andperforating mechanism arranged to be connected in operative relationwith the drum when the latter is moved downwardly, levers for depressingthe drum, devices arranged to interlock with the drum depressing levers,the drum being equipped to automatically disengage the said interlockinglevers from the drum depressing levers, whereby the drum is allowed tomove out of operative relation with the drum operating mechanism and theticket printing and perforatingA mechanism, substantially as described.

8. The combination with normally inactive ticket printing mechanism, ofa drum rotatably mounted, vertically movable and normally springsupported at its upward limit of movement, means for depressing the druminto operative relation with the ticket printing mechanism, means forlocking the drum in the adjusted position, means for rotating the drum,and means mounted on the drum for automatically unlocking the lockingmeans at predetermined intervals, substantially as described.

9. The combination with normally inactive ticket printing mechanism, ofa drum rotatably mounted, vertically movable and spring supported at itsupward limit of movement,` means for moving the drum downwardly againstthe action of the spring into operative relation with the ticketprinting mechanism, means for locking the drum in the adjusted position,means for rotating the drum, means mounted on the drum for automaticallyunlocking the locking means at predetermined intervals, and means forreturning the drum rotatably to its initial position.

10. The combination of ticket printing mechanism, a drum rotatablymounted, vertically movable and normally spring supported at its upwardlimit of movement, means for actuating the drum against the tension ofits spring to bring it into operative relation with the ticket printingmechanism, drum operating mechanism with which the drum is also broughtinto operative relation when lnoved downwardly, means for locking thedrum at its downward limit of movement, means mounted on the drum for'automatically unlocking the locking means at prcdetcrn'iined intervals,means for returning the drum rotatively to its initial position afterthe said unlocking function has been performed, and means for preventingthe drum trom traveling beyond the initial position during its reverserotary movement, substantially as described.

11. The combination with a suitable frame, of a drum vertically movabletherein, normally spring supported at its upward limit of movement andmounted to rotate, means for moving the drum downwardly against theaction of its spring, ticket printing mechanism with which the drum isbrought into operative relation when at its downward limit of movement,drum operating mechanism also connected in operative relation with thedrum when in its lowermost position, means for locking the drum inposition, when adjusted for operating the ticket printing mechanism,means mounted on the drum for unlocking the locking means atpredetermined intervals, a coiled spring acting on the drum to return itrotatively to its initial position, and a locking dog for preventing itsreverse rotation beyond such position, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a frame work, of a drum rotatably mounted andbodily movable therein, means for imparting the bodily movement to thedrum, means for locking the drum in the adjusted position, means forimparting rotary movement to t-he drum when in such position, ticketprinting mechanism in operative engagement with the drum when in theadjusted posit-ion, the drum being equipped to automatically unlock thelocking means, substantially as described.

13. The combination with a frame work, of a drum rotatably mounted andbodily movable therein, means for imparting the bodily movement to thedrum, means tor locking it in the adjusted position, means for impartingrotaryY movement thereto when in the usted position, ticket printingmechanism in operative engagement with theA drum when in the last-namedposition, and means for reversing the rotary, action of the drinn aftereach ticket printing act.

14. The combination with a frame work, of a drum rotatably mounted andbodily movable therein, a spring connected with the drum and having atendency to maintain it normally in a predetermined position, means forimparting the bodily movement to the drum against the action of ilsspring, means for locking it in the adjusted position, means forimpart-ing rotary moven'ient to the drum when in the adjusted position,ticket printing mechanism in operative engagement with the drum when inthe last-named position, comprising a ticket printing roll, acooperating perforating roll. a roll for carrying a paper strip uponwhich the tickets are printed, means for automatically cutting otf theprinted part of the strip simultaneously with the return of the drum toits normal. position in response to the tension of its spring.

15. The combination of a framework, a drum bodily movable in the framework, a spring having a tendency to normally maintain the drum in itsinitial position, means for imparting the bodily movement to the drumagainst the action of its spring, means for locking it in the adjustedposition, means for imparting rotary movement to the drum when in theadjusted position, ticket printing mechanism in operative engagementwith the drum when in the lastnamed position, comprising a ticketprinting roll, a cooperating perforating roll, a roll for carrying apaper strip upon which the tickets are printed, the printing andperforating rolls causing the paper strip to travel between themsimultaneously with the ticket printing and perforating opera` tion, andmeans for automatically cutting off the printed part of the strip,simultaneously with the return of the drum bodily to its normalposition, under the infiuence of its spring.

16. The combination with a frame work, of adrum bodily movable in theframe work, a spring having a tendency to maintain the drum in itsnormal position, means for actuating the drum bodily against the tensionof its spring, means for locking the drum in the adjusted position,means for imparting rotary movement to the drum when in the last-namedposition, a ticket printing roll, a cooperating perforating roll, a rollfor carrying a strip of paper upon which the tickets are printed, theprinting and perforating rolls serving to feed the strip of paper,simultaneously with the printing operation, and an inking rollcooperating with the printing roll during the printing operation,substantially as described.

17. The combination of a drum rotatably mounted and bodily movable, aspring having a tendency to normally maintain the drum in its normalposition against bodily movement., means for imparting the bodilymovement to the drum against the tension of its spring, means forlocking the drum in the adjusted position, means `tor imparting rotarymovement thereto when in the lastr named position, a ticket printingroll, a cooperating roll, a. roll for carrying a` paper strip upon whichthe tickets are printed, the ticket printing and perforating rolls 5serving to cause the said paper strip to travel between them during theticket printing and perforating operation, and means for automaticallycutting olf the printed strip of the roll simultaneously with the re- 10turn of the drum to its normal position of bodily movement, said meanscomprising a stationary cutting jaw and a cooperating movable jaw,substantially as described.

Y In testlmon whereof I affix my signature in presence o 'two witnesses.

ROY M. RICKERT.

Witnesses A. J. OBBIEN, A. EBEBTOBBIEN.

